Senate  Bill,  No.  8.]  [Ses.  I860-’ 61. 


Introuced  by  Mr.  Humphrey,  of  Onslow. 


John  Spelman,  Printer  to  the  State. 


A  BILL  TO  PERMIT  FREE  PERSONS  OF  COLOR 
TO  SELECT  THEIR  OWN  MASTERS  AND  BECOME 
SLAVES, 

Section  1.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the 

2  State  of  North-Carolina ,  and  it  is  hereby  enacted  by  the 

3  authority  of  the  same ,  That  it  shall  he  lawful  for  any  free 

4  person  of  color,  now  in  this  State,  or  who  may  hereafter 

5  he  within  its  limits,  being  over  the  age  of  fourteen  years r 

6  to  choose  his  or  her  master,  and  become  a  slave,  upon  the 

7  terms  and  conditions  hereinafter  named  ;  Provided ,  said 

8  slave  shall  not  be  subject  to  forced  sales  for  any  debt  in¬ 
to  curred  by,  or  judgment  rendered  against  the  chosen  mas- 
11  ter,  prior  to  the  period  of  enslavement. 

Sec.  2.  Be  it  further  enacted ,  That  whenever  any  free 

2  person  of  color,  as  aforesaid,  desires  to  choose  a  master, 

3  such  person  may  file  a  petition  in  the  court  of  pleas  and 

4  quarter  sessions  of  the  county  in  which  he  or  she  resides, 

5  setting  forth  his  or  her  desire  to  choose  an  owner  ;  which 

6  petition  shall  be  signed  by  the  petitioner,  in  the  presence 

7  of  at  least  two  subscribing  witnesses  ;  and  thereupon  the 

8  clerk  of  the  court  in  which  such  petition  shall  have  been 

9  filed,  shall  give  notice  thereof  by  posting  such  notice  at 

10  the  court  house  door  for  four  weeks  ;  and  said  clerk  shall 

11  issue  a  summons  to  the  petitioner  and  the  person  desig- 

12  nated  in  the  petition  as  the  proposed  master,  citing  them 

13  to  appear  before  said  court,  at  the  term  thereof  next  sue- 


Senate  Bill  No.  8. 


[Session 


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14  ceeding  the  expiration  of  the  publication  of  said  notice, 

15  and  shall  also  issue  a  subpoena  for  the  subscribing  wit- 

16  nesses  to  the  petition,  which  summons  and  subpoena  shall 

17  be  executed  in  the  same  manner  as  like  process  in  other 

18  cases. 

Sec.  3.  Beit  further  enacted,  That  upon  the  appearance 

2  in  open  court,  of  both  the  petitioner  and  the  person  de- 

3  signated  in  the  petition  as  the  desired  master,  the  court 

4  shall  proceed  to  examine  each  party  separately,  as  well  as 

5  the  subscribing  witnesses  to  the  petition,  and  such  other 

6  person  as  the  court  may  seem  lit  ;  and  at  such  examina- 

7  tion,  the  county  solicitor  shall  be  present,  and  see  that  a 

8  full  examination  is  had,  and  he  shall  represent  the  peti- 
1)  tioners  in  such  examination.  And  if  upon  such  exami- 

10  nation  the  court  shall  be  satisfied  that  there  is  no  fraud 

11  or  collusion  between  the  parties,  that  the  proposed  master 

12  is  a  person  of  good  repute,  and  there  is  no  good  reason  to 

13  the  contrary,  the  said  court  shall  have  power,  by  decree 

14  entered  into  the  records  of  the  court,  to  grant  the  prayer 

15  of  the  petitioners  ;  and  from  the  entry  of  such  decree,  the 

16  property  in  said  free  person  of  color,  as  a  slave,  shall  vest 

17  in  the  person  so  chosen  as  master,  and  his  rights  and  lia- 

18  bilities  and  the  condition  of  the  petitioners  shall  be  in  all 

19  respects  the  same  as  though  such  petitioner  had  been  born 

20  a  slave  to  the  master  so  chosen. 

'Sec.  4.  Be  it  f  urther  enacted ,  That  when  any  such  pe- 

2  titioner  as  hereinbefore  mentioned,  shall  be  a  female, 

3  having  children  under  fourteen  years  of  age,  and  shall  in 

4  her  petition  ask  that  such  children  shall  become  the  slaves 

5  of  the  same  person  chosen  by  her  as  master,  if  the  court 

6  shall,  after  examination  as  in  this  act  before  provided, 

7  grant  the  prayer  of  the  petitioner  as  to  herself,  it  shall 
.8  also  decree  such  children  in  like  manner,  to  be  the  slaves 
9  of  the  same  owner  ;  Provided ,  That  where  the  mother  of 

10  such  children,  under  the  age  of  fourteen  years,  shall  be 

11  deceased,  in  that  case  the  next  friend  of  such  children 


I860-’ 61.] 

12  shall  have  authority  in  their  behalf,  to  proceed  in  the 

13  same  manner  to  the  selection  of  a  master  for  them,  as  the 

14  mother  might  do  under  the  provisions  of  this  act. 

Sec.  5.  Be  it,  further  enacted.  That  the  county  solicitor 

2  shall  he  entitled  to  a  fee  of  ten  dollars  for  each  examiua- 

3  tion  attended  by  him  under  the  provisions  of  this  act. 

4  which  shall  be  taxed  as  costs  on  the  proceedings,  and  all 

5  the  costs  of  the  proceedings  shall  be  paid  by  the  m aster 

6  to  whom  the  slave  may  be  decreed  ;  and  after  a  petition 

7  shall  have  been  filed  under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  and 

8  during  the  pendency  of  the  proceedings  under  the  same, 

9  no  proceedings  shall  be  had  against  the  petitioner  under 

10  any  law  prohibiting  free  persons  of  color  from  remaining 

11  in  or  coming  to  this  State. 


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